Today marks the first in a series of posts about Thanksgiving. We’ve decided to start with the table. Stay tuned for recipes from our local chefs and restaurants, which we will release every day through Wednesday. Then, we plan to take a few days off. -Editors
I love decorating tabletops for the holidays, mostly because I can unleash my love of everything gold. In order to keep gold table accents from being fussy or formal, I always mix in rougher elements. A beautiful and balanced look can be achieved by layering in burlap, kraft paper and natural wood.
For this table, I started by layering metallic gold fabric with loosely woven burlap — just enough of the gold shines through to make the tabletop appear to glow when lit by candlelight. It is pretty magical!
I used my trusty can of gold spray paint to gild some shelled nuts, branches and pumpkin trees to add texture to the table. I also painted the edges of plain linen napkins to gussy them up a bit.
My favorite part of this table has to be the sliced wood chargers. I decided to paint them with two coats of chalkboard paint in order to transform them in to a creative “place card.” If I had better handwriting, I would have attempted to chalk on the evening’s menu or write a festive greeting.
I loved the way that the gold rimmed and gold leaf plates looked layered on top of the rough bark edge. Again, it is the juxtaposition of rough and luxe elements that make this table work and keep the metallic accents from being pretentious
